Wishing Stone
by Yukiko of the Snow
Summary: An AU story! For 19-year-old Lucy Heartfilia, life was lonely and painful. That is, until she made a wish on a magic stone and it sent her someone that would come to her aid. But this wasn't your typical fairy godmother. No, this walking disaster came with messy pink hair, the ability to breathe fire and the appetite of a bottomless pit.
1. Prologue

The Wishing Stone

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Greetings Everyone. It is I, Yukiko of the Snow. And this is my new story, The Wishing Stone. It's a concept I have been developing for a while. My original plan was going to be to wait until I have finished some of my current stories, but the way things are going, I don't see that happening anything soon. And I have been feeling lots of inspiration for this one lately. So maybe this will the kick I need to get my writing juices flowing and help me finish my other stories.

Just a little info about this story.

1\. This an AU story. That means relationships, stats, and everything else that pertains to the original story line means nothing to this story.

2\. Some characters may come off as a bit OC in example, Lucy may seem a bit more depressed and things like that.

3\. Fairy Tail and all its characters belong to the Great Hiro Mashima. I own nothing. If I did, Juvia would have been married and pregnant with Gray's child at the end of the manga.

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Summary: An AU story! For 19-year-old Lucy Heartfilia, life was lonely and painful. That is, until she made a wish on a magic stone and it sent her someone that would come to her aid. But this wasn't your typical fairy godmother. No, this walking disaster came with messy pink hair, the ability to breathe fire and the appetite of a bottomless pit.

Prologue

It was nighttime in the quiet town of Marigold. The streets were tranquil, and all the good little boys and girls were tucked in for the night. Resting their sweet little heads on their soft pillows, snuggled in their cozy warm beds, sleeping until they would be welcomed by the light of a new day.

"MOMMY!" a beautiful little girl cried out as she ran around in her room.

Well, almost most every child. The Heartfilia household had a little one that was still full of energy and jumping about.

"Come now Lucy." Her mother called out as she finally caught her rumbustious 3-year-old daughter and carried her to her bed. "It is way pass your bedtime. Mr. Sandman is waiting patiently outside your window. Just waiting for the chance to sparkle some magical sleep dust over you."

"But Lucy not tiwed mommy!" The little girl protested as she struggled to break free of her mother's arms.

"Lucy," her mother said in a stern tone she set her down on her bed. "It's time for bed, little lady." But the little girl had a secret weapon of her own. She looked at her mother with her big brown eyes and pouted lips.

"Lucy wants one mowe stowy. Pweety pwease mommy." Her mother sighed heavily as she placed her child on her bed. Mrs. Heartfilia could never say no to Lucy whenever she made the puppy eyes.

"Fine then, Lucy. Mommy will read you one more story, but then it is time for bed. You promise?" Lucy nodded, rushing out from under her cover as her mother picked out a book on lore and fables; Lucy's favorite storybook.

"Ok Lucy." Her mother sat down while Lucy settled on her lap. "Which story would you like hear about tonight. There is the story of the magical fish, the fairy that hides behind the rainbow." As her mother flipped through the pages, a beautiful blue shimmer caught the 3-year old's eye.

"That one, Mommy!" she cried out, placing her tiny hands on the page. "The one with the pwetty wock!"

"Ah, the wishing stone." Her mother said. "That is a wonderful choice."

"Wishing stone?" The girl echoed her mother. "What's a wishing stone?"

"Well, my dear," Mrs. Heartfilia turned to the book. "The wishing stone is a magical stone that grants its holder their one sincere desire. If you are truly in need, the wishing stone will appear before you and allow you to make a wish. It is said that only a good-hearted person may call upon the magic of the stone, so if you have ill intentions you can't even see this stone. Once a wish has been made, it is carried on the wings of special helpers to a magical king who will be granted it he finds this person worthy."

"Like Lucy, Mommy?" Lucy looked up at her mother. The though of having whatever she wanted made Lucy enlivened.

"Exactly like you, my sweet little princess. If you had a wishing stone, what would you wish for?"

"A pony!" Lucy blurted out.

"Silly Lucy." Her mother gave a chuckle, running her fingers through the child's golden locks. "The wishing stone can't grant you material items.

"Then what can Lucy wish for?"  
"Well, something that you cannot buy in the store. If you are scared, you can wish for courage. If you are uncertain, you can wish for wisdom. If you feel weak, you can wish for strength."

"Oh," The little girl closed her eyes as she thought of what she would wish for. Something she couldn't buy seem strange to her, but Lucy was quite the clever child. Suddenly her eyes popped out. "Then Lucy would wish fow evewyone to be happy." Lucy giggled. "Like you and daddy and Lisanna"

"That's a delightful wish, Lucy" Mrs. Heartfilia gave her daughter a hug. "You are such a thoughtful little girl." Lucy gave a yawn as her eyes began to grow heavy. Gently her mother stood up and began to sing her daughter's favorite lullaby.

" _You are my sunshine, my only sunshine…"_ She slowly rocked Lucy in her arms.

" _You make me happy when skies are gray…"_ She set Lucy in her bed and pulled the covers over her.

" _You'll never know dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away…"_ She kissed her sleeping child on her forehead. "Goodnight my little one. May all your wishes come true."

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A/N: So there you have. So what do you think. Do you Like it, hate it, do you think it needs more Happy and Natsu? Please leave me some feedback!


	2. Chapter 1

_Hello again! I'm so glad that so many people read my story! ANd to those who favorite and followed it, thank you. It got me pumped to write the next chapter as quick as possible. Just a little warning, this chapter is a bit emotional. I was using my own past experiences when writing this chapter. So, if it makes you sad, I apologized._

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Chapter 1  
 _"Daddy," Young Lucy called out as she tugged on her father's pants. "When are we going to see mommy?" But her father was too busy talking to the doctor to pay attention to her. Lucy didn't like a lot of things in this world, like broccoli, the dark or the dentist, But the thing she hated the most was the hospital. They were so gloomy and had a weird smell to them. But the reason why she couldn't stand hospitals was because they had taken her mother away from her. Mommy told Lucy that she was just going in for a check-up. But soon those check-ups became more frequent and longer. Then mommy started staying overnights as well. Those nights turned to days, then weeks. Now mommy practically lived at the hospital. And they were always doing mean things to her. They stuck lots of needles into her arms. They gave her medicine that always made her too sick to even walk or eat. They even made all her pretty blonde hair fall out. And it wasn't just mommy they were being mean too; it was daddy too. He was always very sad whenever he talked to one of mommy's doctors. How many times had they come home from the hospital, only for daddy to break down once he closed his bedroom door._

 _She looked up at her father, frightened by the look on his face. He had tears running down the sides of his face, just like after mommy's first check-up when she told him that she had something called 'cancer'. This time, the doctor had said another word she didn't know._

 _What did 'deceased' mean? Lucy wondered as she wrapped her small hands around his._

" _I'm sorry, Jude," The doctor placed his hand on daddy's shoulder before he turned away. "We did all that we could for Layla. But we couldn't save her."_

" _Daddy," Lucy's lip began to quiver, tears gathering in her soft brown eyes. "I wanna go see mommy."_

" _Lucy," Her father sank to his knees as he embraced his daughter. "I'm sorry, Lucy. But your mother is…" He began choking on his tears. "Mommy is gone."_

" _No…" Lucy shook her head. She didn't want to believe that her mother would leave without telling her or Daddy goodbye. She loved her family too much, just to leave them behind. "NO!" She broke away from her father's hold and ran towards her hospital room._

" _LUCY!" Her father called out. "Come back!" But Lucy wasn't listening. She wasn't going to believe the mean doctors because they just wanted to make Lucy cry too._

 _They're wrong! She kept telling herself as she ran down the halls. Mommy's still here. I know she is. She wouldn't leave me behind._

" _MOMMY!" She busted into her mother's room. Thankfully her mother was still in her hospital bed. She was still sleeping soundly. All the wires and needles were gone, while Those big noisy machines were turned off._

 _Silly daddy. Lucy sighed a breath of relief as she walked up to her mother. Mommy is still here. Maybe they just forgot where mommy's room was._

" _Hi mommy!" Lucy hugged her mother's arm, but suddenly pulled away. Something was wrong. Her mother was always so warm whenever she hugged her. But this time, she felt ice cold and her arm felt just as limp as her one of her dolls. "Mommy…" she started shaking her mother's arm to wake her up. "Please wake up…" she pleaded as she shook her harder. But no matter how hard she tried, her mother wouldn't open her eyes. Her father suddenly rushed in and pulled her away from the bed just as the nurses pulled the sheets over mommy's head. Why were they do that to her? She didn't need to be covered up; she needed to come home with her and daddy._

" _WAKE UP! MOMMY"! She tried to break free from her father's grasp "WAKE UP MOMMY!" She screamed again. She took a deep breath before she screamed again…_

"MOMMY!" Lucy screeched as she shot up from her bed. She was covered in a cold sweat and was pant hastily. Lucy's heart was pound so hard, it felt at if it were to jump out of her chest. As she looked around, she realized that she was no longer in her mother's hospital room; she was back in her apartment bedroom. "It was just a dream." She let herself fall backwards on her bed.

 _Of course, it was a dream._ She told herself as she covered her eyes with her right arm. _Mom died when I was 7._ But even though it had been 12 years, the memory of her mother's death still haunted Lucy to this day. Quietly, she got out of bed and made her way to what she considered her safe haven. As she entered what used to be Lisanna's room, she picked up one of Lisanna's favorite stuff animals and sat down in a rocking chair once belonged to her mother. As she looked around the room, Lucy couldn't help but feel melancholy. This room was filled with mementos of loved ones that had passed away; From all her mother's books and chair to some of her father's shirts, ties and his big grandfather clock that Lucy remembered sitting in front of for hours. And with Lisanna's passing a little over a year and a half ago, she had even more to add to her collection. Stuffed animals, drawings, and anything else her older siblings didn't want was now Lucy's to keep. Though she was reluctant to accept her belongings at first, in the end she was thankful for them.

As Lucy rocked in the chair, she felt a little more at ease. Those memories always gave Lucy panic attacks. She remembered all those nights waking up in tears during her childhood. Still, it had been quite some time since she had an unpleasant dream. Usually she would only have those types of nightmares when she was under an immense amount of stress.

"That makes sense, I guess." Lucy sighed as she squeezed the stuffed parrot tighter. "After all, today is the day." After putting it off for a year and a half, Lucy was finally signing up for classes at University of Fiore in Crocus. Lucy technically had already finished up her freshman year before she graduated high school (thanks to her duel credit classes), but the university had stated that they could no longer hold her spot and she needed to officially enroll, or she was going to be dropped. Though it seemed a bit harsh, Lucy was understanding. The university was very considerate after Lisanna died a month before graduation. They decided to honor her title as 1st in her class and put a hold on her enrollment so she could heal mentally from that tragedy.

Lucy wasn't postponing college because she was afraid of the classes or the material. Lucy was first in her class. She had an above average IQ, so she knew that she would have no problem academically. What frightened her the most was moving forward without her best friend by her side. Lisanna had been her best friend for as long as she could remember. She had been there for all the major milestones and the heartbreak. In fact, they were planning to attend UF Crocus together. Lucy was going to be a famous author and Lisanna was going to be the world's greatest veterinarian. Now that Lisanna was gone, Lucy was now on this journey alone. And she didn't know if she was strong enough to make it on her own.

"I hope I am." Lucy placed the animal back on the bed and stood up. As she walked out of the room, she could feel the doubt setting in. Quickly, she closes the door behind her, to stop her from hiding in the room once more.

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As Lucy walked across the snow-covered lawn of her apartment complex, she could see someone was already outside. As she drew near, she let out a groan. It was none other than Mirajane Strauss; the oldest of the Strauss siblings and more importantly, she was Lisanna's big sister. As the landlady of the complex, she was always up early in the morning, working on some task on the property. Today she was busy sweeping the freshly fallen snow from the walkway.

 _Hopefully she won't notice me._ Lucy thought as she quickened her pace and pulled her hood over her eyes. It was as if she didn't like Mira or Elfman Strauss. In fact, they were practically family to her. The three young Strauss had become orphans after their parents had died in a car accident. Since her father and the Strauss were close friends, he took in all three and cared for them alongside his daughter. But it was the fact that they reminded Lucy so much of Lisanna that she chose to keep her distance. _Please don't notice me._ She thought as she tried to scurry past the sweeping woman. _Please don't turn around, Mirajane._ But as if she could hear Lucy's thoughts, Mirajane suddenly turned towards her just as Lucy was crossing her path.

"Lucy!" Mirajane called out as she crossed across the yard. "Good Morning, Lucy.

"Oh, hi Mirajane." Lucy forced a smile as she waved awkwardly at the eldest Strauss sibling. "um long time no see. Sorry I couldn't spend Christmas or New Year's with you or Elfman. It's just… I feel that's more of a family thing and I would just be intruding on it."

"It's alright, Lucy." Mirajane smiled back at the blonde. "I know its been… tough for you to adjust since, well you know…" Mirajane paused for a moment. Lucy understood how difficult it was for either Strauss sibling to talk about Lisanna. It had already been a year and a half, but to them, the loss will still fresh in their mind.

"Yeah, Lisanna was always the social extrovert and I was little introvert that she unofficially adopted." That brought a smile to Mirajane's face. They stood in an awkward silence for what seem like an eternity. Mira was probably thinking of a conversation that wouldn't stir up any unpleasant memories while Lucy was looking for an easy way to escape. "Well, it was great talking to you Mira, but I have to get going now…"

"Where are you headed off to this early in the morning?" Mira asked innocently.

 _Damn._ That was the one question Lucy was hoping to avoid.

"I'm just going…to…. the…. university." she mumbled as quietly as she could, hoping Mira couldn't hear the last place. But Mira's sudden embrace suggested otherwise.

"That's absolutely wonderful!" Mira tightened her grasp around the girl. "You're finally going to college! We knew you could do it." As she pulled away, Lucy could see the unshed tears glimmering in Mira's eyes. "Elfman and I are so proud of you! And I know Lisanna would be proud of you too." Lucy could feel that familiar sense of overwhelming grief attempting to take hold of her again. She knew if she spent any more time with Mira, she would probably break down. Her body became tense and pulled away from the silver haired woman.

"Um…thanks. Listen, I really need to go." Lucy quickly turned the other way and began walking away. "See you later, Mira."

"Lucy!" Mira called out. Lucy stopped at turned her head towards the 25-year-old woman. "We don't blame you!" Mirajane she cried, her lower lip quivering as she attempted to fight back her tears. "What happened to Lisanna, Elf and I know it wasn't your fault. So please…." A steady stream of tears started running down her cheeks. "Please don't push us away! We know it was an accident and we would never hold her death against you!" Lucy stared at her for only a few second before turning away.

"Goodbye Mirajane." Lucy said as she continued walking.

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As Lucy waited for the bus, Mirajane's words continued to echo through her mind.

 _We don't blame you! "_ How could she say something so asinine."Lucy said to herself.

 _We know it was an accident and we would never hold her death against you!_ "Don't be stupid, Mira. You and Elf have every right to hold it against me."

 _What happened to Lisanna, Elf and I know it wasn't your fault._ "Of course, it was my fault. If it wasn't for me, then Lisanna would still…." Lucy's voice began to crack as she began to recall that horrible day. As the bus rolled near, Lucy desperately tried to swallow whatever feelings of sorrow she had brewing inside her. She had done this so many times that she was already used to the bitterness of her own emotions. To her, crying was unless, it wouldn't solve anything. With a stoic look plastered on her face, she quietly stood up and boarded the bus.

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 _A/N: Now I know what a lot of you are thinking at this moment. You're probably like "Um, I thought this was supposed to be funny. What I just read was dark af." Yes, it is a comedy and I promise there will eventually be funny parts. Just be patient. And if you would be as kind as to review this story, I would greatly appreciate it!_


	3. Chapter 2

WHaaat! Three updates in the same month! What witchcraft is this!?

But seriously, I actually enjoy writing for this story so much that I can't help it. So enjoy!

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Chapter 2

Lucy glazed vacantly into the horizon as she quietly on the snow-covered river bank. The evening sun casting a golden ray across the calm waters, giving it a warm glow. Whenever Lucy was having a rough day, she could typically be found near a large body of water. The beautiful scenery had always had a calming effect on the young woman. But not even this was enough to lift Lucy's spirits this time.

Picking out classes, touring the campus, visiting the bookstore; Lucy had always anticipated doing these things alongside Lisanna. Doing all these things today on her own, without Lisanna, just made her realized how lost she really was. She would have gone home right after registering for her classes, but she knew that Mirajane and Elfman were probably in her apartment; waiting to ambush her the second she got home with questions of how today went and other trivial matters. Not wanting to deal with that unpleasant possibility, she had opted to stay at the university. She had tried to spend most of the day on campus and maybe talk to at least one other person, but she couldn't do it. She just felt so out of place there, she just ended up hiding in the library until the end of the day. Even then, Lucy hid in between the aisles to avoid interacting with anyone.

"Maybe," Lucy buried her head into her knees. "Maybe going to school is a mistake." Lucy wished she could just hide away in her apartment until the end of time. But as Lucy picked her head up, she knew that wasn't a possibility. Lucy couldn't stay in one spot forever. She needed to move forward. Just like Lisanna used to say; when life knocked to the ground, you just must pick yourself and keep going. Though nowadays, it felt as if life had her pinned down with her face buried in the dirt.

A sudden splashing caught the young woman's attention. Lucy remembered how when she was little, whenever she would see something flopping around in the water, she would automatically assume it was a mermaid.

I _really was gullible back then. That or just stupid._ She picked up a rock and began skipping them across the water. _Mermaids, spirits, magic; that crap isn't real._ As she picked up another rock, a beam of sunshine bounced off the small pebble, radiating a blue shimmer. Lucy brought the pebble a bit closer. This was not your regular pebble; this stone had a beautiful blue sparkle to it. She rotated it, revealing cravings on its smooth surface that resembled a star.

"this looks familiar." Lucy examined the stone before it finally came to her. "the wishing stone?" It did look remarkably similar to the magical stone in her mother's book of fables, down to the star carving. "Don't be silly, Lucy." Lucy tossed the rock to the side. "It's probably just a decorative rock or something like that." A swift cold breeze pass by the girl, making Lucy shiver. "It's getting late." Lucy stood up and picked up her bookbag. "I should probably be getting home." Even though she was positive that the Strauss siblings were waiting for her. Maybe she could find a way to waste time before going home. As she walked up the hill to the sidewalk, she heard another splash. She turned around just in time to see the fish's tail before disappearing into the water.

 _Look mommy, another mermaid!_ She could her 5-year-old self squealing in excitement. But Lucy just gave an annoyed scoff.

"Stupid fish." She said as she turned away.

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Lucy was never more thankful to come home to an emptied apartment. It had been an emotionally exhausting day and all Lucy wanted at this point was peace and quiet. It was half pass 8 and thought it wasn't like her to stay out this late, Lucy had decided to do some shopping after leaving the campus. Mostly because she was trying to avoid any more unwanted interactions with either of the Strauss siblings. She had a suspicion that Mirajane and Elfman would probably be waiting for her when she came home. As she walked into the kitchen, she saw a sealed dish pan on the kitchen counter, confirming her suspicion. she lifted the lid to see one of Mira's homemade cakes; A beautiful strawberry shortcake covered in pink icing, finished off with six glazed strawberries on top. **Congratulations, our little college girl!** Was written in blue frosting on the cake.

"I knew you two couldn't resist." Lucy sighed heavily. It was so pathetic that they were desperately trying to hold on Lucy, even though Lisanna was gone. Lisanna was the only connection Lucy had to the Strauss family. Lisanna was dead now, so there was no reason for Mira or Elf to bother with Lucy any longer. Especially since she was the reason Lisanna was no longer with them. Calmly, she covered the cake and placed it in the fridge before retiring for the night.

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It was silent in the two-bedroom apartment, something that Lucy had grown accustom to since losing her best friend. The only sound came from the ticking of the late Jude Heartfilia's grandfather clock. As usual, Lucy was curled up in her mother's rocking chair, just like she used to do when her mother was still alive. She was holding tight to Lisanna's stuffed tiger, dressed in the pajamas that Lisanna had given her the Christmas before she had died. Lucy's most prized possession, her mother's favorite book of fables, rested carefully on her lap. She must have read this book over a million times and she knew each passage word for word by heart. But that didn't stop her from reading it every night. Just holding this book gave Lucy such nostalgia. Every time she turned a page, it reminded her of how she used to turn the pages with her mother when she was a toddler. There were times when she closed her eyes and pretend that she was three again. Those were some of her happiest memories; just sitting on her mother's lap as her mother would run her fingers through her hair and read to her until she fell asleep. Before mother's illness began to break down her body.

But tonight, Lucy couldn't focus on her reading. She just stared blankly at the book. She had been on the same page for the last half hour and she couldn't even remember the last word she read. Lucy closed the book and sighed. As she set the book carefully on its pedestal, she looked around the room.

 _This room is so different now._ Lucy thought to herself. When Lisanna was alive, this room always seem warm and welcoming. And of course, noisy. Lisanna would always have music blasting or she and Lucy would be chatting up a storm late into the early hours of the mornings. But that was gone now. Though Lucy didn't make any changes to the room, besides moving things, this room now felt so gloomy now. The walls may still be the same powder blue that Lisanna had chosen, but everything seemed so much darker now. The air that was It was as if any life this room possessed died alongside Lisanna

"No," Lucy said to herself. "Not just the room." Since the moment Lisanna died, Lucy felt as she was trapped in an endless state of perpetual sorrow. First mom, then dad, and now Lisanna; everyone important to her were now gone. And after every devastating lost, Lucy was left behind to pick up the shattered pieces. Maybe this was the reason she was wary of letting anyone else in, even Mirajane and Elfman. Lost after lost had taken its toll on the 19-year-old and Lucy didn't have the strength to endure another. Maybe she was better off clinging to memories instead. Sure, it would be a lonely existence but at least she would never have to worry about losing her memories. They would never leave her, so long as her mind was still fully functioning.

 _Memories are better than people. Memories won't ever leave me._ She kept telling herself over again while entering her bedroom, as if trying to convince that this was all she needed out of life. when she picked up her boots, she noticed a small rock falling out of her shoe onto the rug. Picking it up, Lucy realized that it was the same blue stone she had found earlier in the day. She could have sworn she had thrown it away when she was by the river. She must have stepped on it and gotten it caught in the grooves of her boots.

"It really does look like the one in the book." She gazed long at the beautiful blue stone, tracing the small star on its surface. She remembered how that story always used to captivate her when she was young. She would always wondered want she would wish for if she ever found such a thing. Lucy closed her hand around the small stone and brought it close to her chest.

 _I wonder…_ she closed her and took a deep breath. Lucy couldn't understand why she was trying to make a wish on this stone. After all, it was just a silly little tale. But something inside her still believed that there was still hope for her.

"I wish…" she thought long and hard. What could she ask? A friend. No, in the end, friendship eventually faded away. Family. She just couldn't get a family member out of the blue.

 _Memories are better than people. Memories won't ever leave me._ That thought popped into her head once more. Was that a life she truly wanted for herself; alone in this world with nothing but memories to keep her company. No matter how many times she tried to convince her that she was fine with how things were, deep down she couldn't imagine such a terrible existence. She desperately wanted to believe that there was more to life than just wallowing in her own grief, isolated from the world, too afraid to make any other meaningful connections.

"I don't want this anymore. "This was the first time that she had openly express this. She could feel the sorrow building up in her throat. "I… just want someone …who won't runaway or abandon me. Someone who will stand by me even through the darkest nights. Please, I just don't want to alone anymore." She stood still for a few seconds, praying that somehow her wish would be heard. But as she opened her eyes, she saw that nothing happened. There were no shining lights coming from thin air, no magical helpers emerging from the stone, nothing.

"Of course, nothing happened." Lucy muttered bitterly, her eyes narrowing. "It isn't real. Magic isn't real. It's just a bunch of nonsense scribbled in books for entertainment." She tightened her grip around the rock. "What is wrong with me? I'm too old…too smart to believe in this make-believe … BULL CRAP!" she screamed as she furiously clunked the blue stone into a nearby wastebasket. She could feel a light stream of tears rolling down her check. Lucy didn't think that she would be this disappointed, but obviously it had hurt her deeply.

"I guess I just have to get used to it." Lucy got into bed and turned out the lights. As she laid in the darkness, she grudgingly accepted the grim reality of it all. Lucy would always be alone. And there was nothing in this world that would ever change that.

 _Not even magic_. That was her final thought before she slipped into a deep slumber.

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A/N: Ugggh! Another sad chapter! What is wrong with me!? Don't worry though; things are about to get pinker!


	4. Chapter 3

Holy Crap! I'm back after a yearlong hiatus! Sorry for the long absence, it was unintentional, but sadly unavoidable. Info is on my profile

Anyways, This chapter may seem incomplete because it was actually meant to be like 6000+ words. So, the next chapter will be shorter and out soon.

I hope :(

Enjoy this update.

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Chapter 3

While Lucy slept quietly in her bed, a dim light began flashing in the wastebasket. With each flash, the light grew stronger. The can began to rock uncontrollably before a tiny blue orb with wings shot out and began rapidly circling the small room.

"Beginning Data Gathering." The orb said as he suddenly stopped midair and emitted a blue light that enveloped every inch of the room. The light slowly began collapsing on itself towards the center of the room until only the young Lucy was engulfed within the azure glow. The light stood still over the sleeping girl, taking whatever knowledge it could before it quickly faded away. With his mission completed, the small orb landed softly on Lucy's cover.

"How dare you!" The orb vetted its frustration towards his potential assignment. Luckily for him, the girl couldn't see or hear the orb. "You just don't toss a guy into the trash like he's rubbish! Especially a Celestial Spirit messenger!" He jumped around the covers before landing on the nightstand. "But I guess with your history, I can't hold it against you too much." This Lucy girl has had it rough for these last few years. He understood her aggravation when nothing happened. Believe it when he said that if it were up to him, he would have granted her wish in a heartbeat. But that wasn't his call; it was his Majesty who had the final word on the matter.

"Don't worry, Ms. Heartfilia. The orb flapped his tiny wings to lift himself into the air. "I'll make sure your wish is granted.". The orb floated upwards but paused for a moment. "You can count on me, Miss Lucy." And with that, the orb shot upwards, passing through the roof into the night sky. With each flap of its wings, his momentum grew stronger until he was darting through the night sky at supersonic speed. And with one more push, he broke through the barrier, leaving the human realm and entering his own realm. The black night sky was now a beautiful mixture of blue and violet with shards of crystals scattered across sky. The concrete buildings were gone, replaced several different planet-like orbs floating in the air.

The tiny orb began to slow down before coming in for a landing on the crystal star portal.

"Phew!" he said as he rested on the shinning platform. "I barely made it this time. I swear that trip gets harder every mission!"

"Or maybe you're just getting weaker every mission." A small female cat with wings said as she came out from behind a diamond pillar. "it's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Carla!" The newly reenergized orb spun around his colleague/ love interest. "I'm so happy to see you again! Its been too long since we last talked!"

"Don't exaggerate, male cat" She scolded the little orb. "It has only been 1 year, 8 months, and 145 days since you left for your new mission."

"Aww, you kept track of our time apart." The orb gushed.

"Of course." She answered in a frank tone. "It's the only time I've had any peace and quiet."

"Wahh!" The orb dropped to the floor, whining. "You're so heartless, Carla!"

"If you are quite done," the white cat said, disregarding her friend's outburst. "I take it you found another assignment in the human world."

"Yes, I did." The orb quickly regained his composure. "And it's a good one too!"

"Perhaps you such talk to his majesty before making any decisions." Carla said in a matter of fact manner. He knew that every assignment had to be reviewed by his royal highness before receiving its seal for approval. As cool as she acted towards him, she hated seeing her friend getting excited over an assignment that wasn't a sure thing. "So please don't get your hopes ups."

"Trust me, there's no way he'll be able to say no this one." He said as he sped off the Diamond Palace.

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"Greetings," The Celestial Spirit King welcomed his small messenger as he fluttered into his chambers. The ruler of this world was gigantic Celestial Spirit with an imposing, broad-shouldered figure, covered in a suit of armor. His magnificent mustache was long enough to diagonally reach his upper torso and almost extending past his shoulders. His red, pupil-less eyes were certainly intimidating to anyone who dare defy him, but to those who knew him, they were as warm as a burning flame. "It has been a while since I last saw you, my old friend."

"Thank you, your highness." The small orb landed in the palm of his massive hand. "I would have like to return sooner but apparently they aren't many pure hearted individuals in the city of Fiore."

"What a shame. It must be the changing times in the human world." The king lamented. "Sadly, there is nothing that we can do about that."

"Yes, your highness, but I finally managed to find someone who really needs our help."

"Is that so? Tell me more."

"Yes, your highness." A blue beam shot out from the blue orb into the star of the Celestial Spirit King's helmet. This beam began transferring all the information gathered on Lucy into his mind. "The assignment name is Lucy Heartfilia. Female. Age 19." As the information flowed through the Celestial Spirit King's head, he could see all her memories, the happy ones and more importantly, the tragedies that had befallen this girl in her nineteen years of life. As the beam finally cut off, the Celestial Spirit King opened his eyes, his face full of empathy.

"My poor old friend." he said as he set the orb down. "How you have suffered in your few years alive. Tell me, little one, what is her wish?"

"As someone that has done nothing lose one person after another, there is only one thing Lucy wishes for more than anything in this world." The tiny orb replied. "And that is a true friend. Someone who won't leave her and stand by her through thick and thin."

"For my old friend, I will gladly grant Miss Heartfilia this one wish."

"Oh, thank you, your Majesty!" the orb fluttered around triumphantly. "I knew a ruler as benevolent and wonderful as yourself would never say no to a girl in need! I'll go fetch Miss Wendy and send her on this assignment at once."

"I'm afraid that is not possible." The king replied. "Miss Wendy has already been sent out on a mission. besides," He leaned back in his throne. "I feel that this mission may be out of Miss Wendy's field of expertise."

"Um, of course your Majesty." The orb didn't really understand. Wendy was considered the Celestial spirit of friendship because she excelled in assignments of loneliness. Maybe it was the age factor. Afterall, even though Celestial spirits were ageless beings, Wendy did have the appearance of a little girl, mostly because most friendship assignments were made by little girls. "Perhaps, Leo may be able to take this assignment then. You know he has always been successful with the older girls."

"That will not do. Leo is a love spirit. This girl is not asking for love."

"Then may I request Miss Erza then. Maybe Lucy just needs a little courage and strength in order to make a friend."

"And risk giving that poor girl a heart attack. I think not." The Celestial Spirit King sighed. He truly wanted to help Lucy Heartfilia as much as he could, but her request was quite an extreme one. Unlike his messengers, the Celestial Spirit King could read a human's heart. Miss Heartfilia's heart wasn't just lonely; it was broken. With each lost she had suffered; her heart cracked a bit more. He could understand why Miss Heartfilia was weary of letting another else in; one more tragedy could possibly destroy what was left of her heart. Sadly, for Miss Heartfilia, repairing a broken heart was beyond the capability of even his best spirits.

"Unless," he said to himself as he straightened up. "Of course," Certainly if any could help her, it was him. And the king was positive that he needed Miss Lucy's help just as much as she needed his.

"Your highness?" the orb called out, unsure what the king was talking about.

"I have just the spirit to send on this mission. I'm sure he'll be ecstatic after being out of service for some time." The Celestial Spirit King stood from his throne with his sword in hand. "Knowing him, he is probably in the ration hall, stuffing himself as usual."

"You don't mean…." The orb turned a sickly green as he began to shake. "oh, dear god no…" There was only spirit that spent his day eating instead of working. And there was a good reason for that; he was a total screw-up! The very idea that the king was honestly considering appointing that walking calamity to one of his assignments was making him physically ill. "Please, your highness, I beg you, anyone but that buffoon!" Unfortunately, his pleads fell on deaf ears as the king banged the tip of his blade on the crystal tiles.

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"How much supplies do you think we'll need on this mission, Mini?" A small celestial spirit asked his companion while shoving food into a sack.

"Not too much, Gemi." she responded as she passed her partner a few bottles of water. "With our track record, I doubt we'll need more than a week to complete our mission."

"Good point, Mini." The other spirit agreed. "And even if we do take longer than usual, I'm sure our host will have more than even enough rations to share with us." The small being hopped from the shelves onto a barrel of apples. "Should we take some apples with us." As Gemi began to lift the lid, his partner pulled on their supply sack.

"Probably not. Celestial apples don't last long in the human world."

"You're right." Mini jumped to Gemi's side as they both walked out of the ration closet. As soon as the door closed behind the pair, the lid of the apple barrel slightly rose. He cautiously scanned the room to assure that no one else was around

"Finally." From the apple barrel crawled out a young man. He was a slim but muscular man, with only a vest covering his torso, revealing his well-toned chest. But his most defining feature was his messy short hair and horns that sat just above his ears that curved upwards. This young spirit went by the name of Natsu Dragneel, the greatest spirit of all time, at least in his own head. "It's a good thing that that those little stoolpigeons didn't want any apples. Erza said she'll have my head if she caught me sneaking around in the pantry again." Just the thinking about the scarlet-hair spirit's fury sent shivers down his back. "Thank the stars she's out on the mission." Natsu pulled out a few apples from the barrel and shoved a couple in his mouth before sitting down. But as he let himself fall onto a bag of rice; he couldn't help but feel a bit envious of those two. They were about to embark on their own mission to the human world. It seemed that everyone had a mission nowadays. And here Natsu was, stuck in the Celestial Spirit World, just passing the time chowing down on whatever he could get his hands on. And though eating was one of Natsu's favorite pastime, he was getting tired of sitting on the sidelines. It's been centuries since Natsu had stepped outside the Celestial Spirit World to go on a mission; 348 years to be exact. Natsu may have considered himself one of the greatest celestial spirits in all the realm, but even he had to admit that when it came to completing missions, he totally sucked at it. His success rate of 0% was proof of that.

His last mission was nothing short than a total disaster. Natsu had been sent to a samurai who had wished for the safety of his village. And Natsu did just that. Who in their right mind would want to invade a village that was surrounded by a wall of fire? And his plan would have worked perfectly if there wasn't a strong breeze that day. In hindsight, it probably wasn't a smart idea to surround a bunch of wooden huts with straw roofs with fire. But how was Natsu supposed to know that they would be that flammable. Natsu wished he could say that was just an off day for him, but that is how all his missions typically played out.

Somehow, someway, something always caught on fire.

After that last catastrophe, the Celestial Spirit King decided it would be in everyone's best interest if Natsu didn't take anymore missions. So, while every other spirit could travel to the human realm, Natsu was forced to sit out and waste his time hiding in the food pantry. And while that mean that Natsu could stuff his face with food whenever he pleased, it was a sorry existence. He craved excitement and adventure; two things he was sure as hell wasn't going to find here.

"It's not fair!" Natsu let out a groan as he sat up. "They act as if I'm the only spirit who's ever failed a mission or...ten! If they'd just give me another chance, I'll show them how great I can be. Especially that damn Erza!" No sooner had he lay back down when he was engulfed in a shimmering light. Natsu was suddenly transported from the panty to the king's chamber. "What the…." Natsu quickly got to his feet.

"Greetings my old friend," The Celestial Spirit King's voice echoed through the chamber, causing the boy to stagger backwards. "It's been quite some time since I had last summoned you to my quarters, hasn't it Natsu?"

"I swear it wasn't me, old man!" Natsu rebuked as he struggled to get to his feet. There were only two reasons why the king would summon Natsu; he was either going on a mission or he was in trouble. And since it had been more than 300 years since his last mission, he was certain it was the latter. "Whatever the stupid furball told you was a lie!"

"Who are you calling a furball!?" The small orb popped out from behind his majesty to defend himself. "You dumb oaf!" Natsu stared at him for a moment before bursting into laugher.

"What the hell happened to you! You looked stupider than usual." Natsu said in between his cackling. "Did you lose a bet with Cana again?" The orb suddenly turned a deep red.

"For your information, we messengers can't take our original form for at least 24 hours after reentering the Celestial Spirit World." The orb argued. "You would know that if your sorry hind was actually useful enough to be assigned a mission."

"Hey short stuff, you're a little low on the food chain be mouthing off!" Natsu shot back at the orb.

"You outrank me… Please!" The orb scoffed at the very idea. "All you do is eat, take up space, and destroy everything you get your grubby hands on. At this point, I'm sure that ever the rats of the palace serve more of a purpose than you!"

"Now let's keep it civil, you two." The Celestial Spirit King tried to defuse the situation, even though it was pointless. These two fought worse than cats and dogs.

"Shut the hell up, you little pain in the ass!"

"Make me, you stupid jerk!"

"Boys," the Celestial Spirit King tried again, but to no avail.

"Annoying fleabag!"

"Bumbling halfwit!"

"That is enough…" the Celestial Spirit King was growing tired of the pair constant bickering.

"Nagging blue hairball!"

"Pathetic pink-haired jackass!"

"SILENCE!" The Celestial Spirit King's mighty voice bellowed throughout the entire room as he struck the tip his enormous sword against the crystal floor. "If you two are done squabbling like a couple of unruly children…"

"Happy sucks." Natsu took one last shot at his circular nemesis.

"And Natsu's an ass!" The orb retorted. The omnipotent being threw the youngsters such a vicious glare, it could freeze the flames of the underworld. Both beings quivered at such a fearsome sight.

"Sorry, your majesty." They both said as they bowed their heads. The king sighed heavily as he composed himself again.

"My goodness." The king let out a heavy sigh. Nothing was more exhausting than breaking up an argument between these two rascals. "Natsu Dragneel, do you know the reason why I have summoned you to my chambers?"

"Is it because I did something wrong?"

"Knowing you, it probably should be." The orb muttered under his breath. The Celestial Spirit threw a quick glare at him. "Sorry, your highness."

"Rest assure, my old friend, punishment does not await you, this time." He smiled at the young spirit. "Fire Spirit Natsu; after much consideration, I've concluded that you are ready to undertake a mission."

"Wait, what?" Natsu said, making sure he heard correctly. "Did you say a mission?"

"I believe I did." Master replied.

"An actual mission… to the human realm." Natsu was a bit cautious of getting his hopes up. There were several times he had been given so-called 'missions' that turned out to be everyday choices around the Celestial Spirit World. "Because the last mission I was given a mission, it was to burn the overgrowth of vines on the palace wall."

 _And that dumb oaf still managed to screw that up by setting half the courtyard on fire as well._ The orb thought bitterly to himself. A messenger was only as good as the number of successful assignments under their belt. And every messenger in the Celestial Spirit realm dreaded Natsu Dragneel for one collectively reason; any assignment handed over to that moron was a guarantee failure. _If this idiot can't even handle clearing a few weeds from the wall, then there's no chance in hell that he'll be able to handle an actual assignment!_

"I assure you, my old friend," The Celestial Spirit King gave a chuckle. "This is no ruse. It is time to redeem yourself and I have the perfect mission for you." Natsu just stood there, completely in shock. Everyone else had already declared Natsu to be a lost cause. Even Natsu was starting to give up hope that he'll ever see the human realm again. But it seems that Master still had faith in in Natsu, giving him another chance by presenting him with an assignment to the human realm.

"Hey dummy," The orb called out. Natsu shutting up for more than a few seconds were a rarity among rarities, so it was quite a sight to see him with his mouth opened but nothing stupid pouring out. "Didn't you hear his highn…." But before he could finish, Natsu suddenly burst into flames.

"YAHOO!" he cried out in excitement as he rocketed around the king's chambers. "A MISSION! A MISSION! I FINALLY GOT A MISSION!" He chanted along the way.

"Does it really have to be him, your Highness?" The orb pleaded once more as they watched the young fire spirit dash around like a crazy idiot. "He's just going to fail just as he always does."

"Nonsense," The king backed his decision. "Everyone deserves a second chance to prove themselves. And I am positive that Natsu is the best suited for this assignment." The king tapped his sword against the floor once more. "Settle down, Natsu Dragneel." Natsu, who was midair, suddenly extinguished his own flames before landing in front of the throne once more.

"Sorry your majesty." Natsu said with a toothy grin. "I'm just so fired up! It's been almost forever since I've been sent out on a mission. So, tell me more about this mission. Do I have to protect a village from invading force? Save a damsel in distress? Ooooh… Or maybe something really exciting like ending a war!"

"Settle down, youth one." The Celestial Spirit King said. "While not exhilarating as those mission, this particular mission is just as important."

"Ooooooo!" Natsu couldn't contained his excitement a second longer. "Tell me! Tell me! Tell me!" The king held out his enormous palm as a projection of a human girl manifested itself. And even he had to admit that she was kind of cute; for a human that is.

"Is she the one I'm going to help?" Natsu asked as he examined his latest mission. This human woman had long blond hair that ran down halfway her back. She had a curvy figure, being blessed in the chest area. With those looks, she could easily be a princess or higher type of royalty. But as he stared at this girl's lovely face, he couldn't help but notice the pain displayed so prominently in her pretty brown eyes. And that frown of her face; it surely didn't suit her at all. She probably had a really nice smile hidden under all that gloominess.

"Yes, my friend." The king replied. "This is Lucy Heartfilia. She is in dire need of your assistance."

"Lucy," Natsu moved closer to the image, completely mesmerized by this girl. After all, she was his ticket to becoming a respectful spirit once more.

"You see Natsu, Miss Heartfilia is having difficulties letting anyone get too close to her. It is most likely due to her past trauma. And in a desperate attempt to protect herself from any more pain, she has pushed everyone close to her away. Now she has willing locked her heart away from the rest of the world and judging by her wish, she doesn't know how to free it." He closed his fist, causing the image to disappear. "Natsu Dragneel, your mission is to guide Miss Heartfilia and help her open up her heart again."

"You can't be serious." Natsu stared back at the king, not even attempting to hide his discontent. Sure, it was stupid of him to expect an action-packed mission, but this was a complete waste of his potential.

"Is there a problem, Natsu Dragneel?"

""Yeah, I do." Natsu responded. "My so-called 'important' mission is to help some lonely human girl who can't make friends."

"What are you trying to tell me, Natsu Dragneel?" The King asked.

"Listen old man, I really appreciate the offer. but I think I'm going to pass on this one."

"Oh, thank merciful heaven!" The orb let out a heavy sigh of relief.

"Hush," The King shot back before turning to the young fire spirit. "Natsu, I'm quite surprise that you would reject a potential assignment."

"Yeah, no offense, but this mission ain't for me. I might be desperate for work, but I want something… exciting. Babysitting some lonely girly girl is not really my idea of exciting." He turned to walk away. "So, thanks but no thanks. But, if you ever need a spirit to take down a mega baddie, you know where to find me."

"Cut the high and mighty act, Dragneel!" The orb cried, stopping the young man in his tracks. "Trying to act you're above this job. When We all know why you don't want to take this mission. Truth is that your sorry butt probably can't afford another failure." Natsu balled his hands into a fist. Clearly, that little fiend had stuck a nerve.

"Shut your damn mouth…" Natsu turned his head and threw him a hard glare. "if you know what's good for you." Though an enraged Dragneel was definitely a terrifying sight to behold, the orb refused to back down.

"Seriously, how many more missions do you have left before we ship you to downstairs for a little family reunion?"

"That is enough from you." The Spirit King scolded the orb before turning to Natsu. "Natsu, are you absolutely positive about declining this mission?" The king asked. Natsu stared at his highness for a brief second. But he just turned away as he silently exited the king's chamber.

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A/N: I know what a lot of you are thinking. "What the hell, Natsu and Happy are supposed to be BFF! How dare you make them enemies!" And to that I say, remember how I said in the Prologue that relationships from the original content means absolutely nothing in this story. Yeah, this is what I was talking about.

So, fight me.

Just kidding.

Please don't hit me. I bruise easily.


	5. Chapter 4

Greetings to all! Sorry for the delay in updating. I had medical issues to deal with. But fear not, the next chapter will be out soon.

Enjoy!

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Chapter 4

"Stupid fuzzball!" The young fire spirited to himself as he stormed down the corridors of the diamond palace. His rage so great that it literally engulfed his body in flames. His flames were so intense that they were withering every potted fern he passed. On any other given day, Natsu would be scrambling to save them less he invokes the rage that beast woman he knew as Erza. But today, he could care less what happened to those stupid plants or his impending punishment.

"Who the hell does he think he is!" He normally didn't get along with the messenger known as Happy in the first place, so unpleasant interactions between the pair were a natural occurrence. In fact, they had practically called each other every insult known to spirit kind type, along with some others that they had made up on the spot. But for him to take a cheap shot like that; especially in the presence of his royal majesty! Talk about hitting below the belt. "He's so lucky that his highness was there with us, or else I would have crushed him like the worthless little mosquito he really is!" Natsu was so lost in his rage, that he didn't realize where he was going until he walked into a crystal column.

"What the…" he said as he looked around. An endless scene of royal blue night skies that glistened with stars for walls. Elegant quartz pillars that lined the shimmering crystal pathways. Tiny lights that grouped together to create portraits of his fellow Celestial Spirits. Natsu's scowl grew deeper as he realized where he had ended up. The hall where all the Celestial Spirits' achievements were displayed for all to admired, such so that the King had christened this hall the Chamber of the Shooting Stars.

Or as Natsu commonly referred to, the Chamber of Everyone who didn't suck like Natsu.

"Of course, I would end up here." Natsu bitterly commented as stared at the shinning portraits of his comrades. The brighter the portrait, the more successful the spirit. There were the old timers, like Makarov that have been at this game for longer than he been alive. Then there were those up and coming newbies, like Wendy and Ronan, that were making quite a name for themselves. And who could forget about the overachieving top performers like Erza and Leo, whose image shone so bright, it was blinding. As he walked deeper into the chamber, the lights grew dimmer. Every step he took was practically another stab into his already wounded ego. There were so many others that were so more superior than him. It really made him feel worthless. He abruptly stopped at the one portrait that was so dim that one could barely make out the image it was supposed to represent.

Of course, he was speaking of his own portrait.

"My picture is almost blacked out. Why am I not surprised?" Natsu said to him. How could it shine when he had never had one successful mission under his belt? His focus then shifted right, to the portrait whose light had permanently been extinguished. "I guess failure must run in the family," he sat just below the picture. "Doesn't it, Zeref."

If there was one thing that the Dragneel brothers were known for, everyone would agree that the Dragneels had a habit of making things worse. The younger brother with his destructive fire abilities and the older brother with his darkness abilities that bought ruins to everything he encountered; what good could come from a pair like that. It wasn't their fault they were this way. It is said that Celestial Spirits are born when a being with magical abilities or a strong will dies in the human realm. He knew that Erza had once been a brave knight who had fended off an opposing army single handed before dying from exhaustion on the battlefield. Many believed Wendy was a child goddess, said to possess healing abilities before tragically being taken by an epidemic at the time. And Loke was rumored to be a powerful lion who protected his pride for many seasons before making the ultimate sacrifice to save his family from hunters. Though Natsu couldn't recall anything else about his past life, he was certain that he and Zeref were once mighty dragons. Natsu was a brilliant red and pink dragon while Zeref was a black dragon. And when they died, they became Celestial Spirits. But sadly, their destructive nature transcended into their new lives. Natsu was always destroying everything he came in contact with while Zeref was causing mayhem wherever he went. But even though the rest of the Celestial spirits looked down on the brothers, they had each other to lend on whenever things went wrong.

 _Well, we had each other_. Natsu thought to himself as he looked up at his brother's picture. _Until the day you were sent away._ There was a law among the Celestial Spirits that every must adhere to; A Celestial Spirit must generate positive energy, not negative energy. Spirits that had successful mission created more positive energy. And In the case of the Dragneel brothers, the more pain and misery they created, the more negative energy they generated. And if spirits could create only negative energy, they were no better than demon and therefore sent to the underworld.

Zeref had met with this very fate. Because he happened to take more missions than his younger brother, had accumulated too much negative energy and he was taken away from Natsu. And what hurt the most was that Natsu wasn't even there to say his final goodbyes to his brother. He was busy screwing up that samurai mission. By the time he got back, it was too late. Zeref was gone and Natsu was all alone.

Maybe that was the reason the King stopped all missions for the younger Dragneel. His highness couldn't bare the pain of sending the other brother the underworld as well.

"What am I going, brother?" Natsu sighed heavily. As much as he hated agreeing with that miserable hairball, Happy was right.

The Great Natsu Dragneel was afraid.

Afraid to fail again.

Afraid to let down his master.

And afraid to be sent to the underworld.

"I don't want to send the rest of my days locked away in the ration pantry. But I know that taking this mission would be an instant fail! And knowing my luck, this will be the one that gets me sent to the underworld, just like you!" Natsu slammed his fist against the floor. "I hate this! I hate being a failure! Everything I do, I always make thing worse for everyone. Maybe…Maybe I should just stop wasting everyone's time and go to the underworld."

 _You got to fake it until you make it._ That was Zeref's favorite quote whenever either of them had a bad mission. _You just have to think you're the best until it becomes a reality._ But that was easier said than done. It was getting harder to convince himself that he was so great when everyone with half of a brain knew he was a total letdown.

Natsu was so deep in thought, he didn't notice the Celestial Spirit King until he heard the massive clank as he took a seat next to the young man.

"I knew I would find you here, Natsu." He said with a grin. "You always did have a habit of running to your big brother whenever something was weighing heavily on your mind." Natsu responded with a simple grunt. "So, what is on your mind, My old friend?"

"Are you sure you want me to go this mission?" Natsu said as he buried his head into his knees. "I've failed every single mission I've been sent on since day one. How are you so sure that this one won't end like the others?" The Celestial Spirit King smiled as he placed his heavy hand over Natsu's pink hair.

"Natsu, my old friend. Although many have doubts in your abilities, for good reasons, I believe you will success and will do so with flying colors."

"Why?" Natsu looked up at him.

"Because I have the upmost faith in you, my old friend. " The Celestial Spirit King removed his hand as he stood up. "So, Natsu Dragneel, will you take this task and assist Miss Heartfilia as best as you can?"

 _You got to fake it until you make it._ Natsu could almost his brother saying to him.

"Fine!" Natsu groaned as he shot up from the floor. Though it felt that he was answering his brother rather than the Celestial Spirit King. "Just stop with all this groveling already! It really doesn't suit you, old man."

"I'm glad to hear you reconsider." The king said.

"Yeah. I'm just letting you know that I'm only doing this because I have nothing better to do. I still think this mission is beneath me." Natsu shot back get, displaying that cockiness he was typically known for. "But the farther away from the stupid cat, the better."

As he watched the young one march off, the Celestial Spirit King turned the dim portray of the older Dragneel. "Thank you Zeref." He smiled to the image. "You always had a way of talking some sense into that little brother of yours."

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To say that Natsu didn't feel a little nervous as he stood upon the crystal star portal would be a lie. He was absolutely terrified. He was literally a leap away from entering the human realm. A jump away from his first real mission in almost 400 years. And this mission could either his first successful mission or it could give him a one-way ticket to the underworld.

 _What am I worried about?_ Natsu though in an attempt of reinsurance _. All I have to do is look after a gloomy human girl until she isn't so gloomy anymore. That shouldn't be too hard._ But despite all his efforts, he could feel beads of sweat forming on his forehead. _Right?_

"Hey, you stupid oaf!" He could hear that annoying cat screeching from behind him. He was so deep in thought, he had forgotten that the stupid was here to brief him on the assignment. "Did you even hear a word I said?!"

"Probably not." Natsu replied with a smug grin. "I tend to drown out any noise that is really annoying."

"Listen here, dumbass," Happy the orb turned a deep red as he fluttered near the arrogant spirit's face. "The last thing I wanted was to have you on one of my assignment. Unlike you, I actually am successful in everything I do. And I don't need to have my hard-earned efforts tarnished by an idiot like you; just because his majesty felt sorry for you!"

"I will end you, fuzzball!" Natsu threatened the tiny being.

"All I'm saying is since we're on the same assignment, could you do me this one favor and try not to be a total failure like usual."

"Screw you, stupid Furball." Natsu flicked the orb away. "Not only am I not going to fail; I'm going to do such a good job, that when I do come back, I'm gonna rub it in all your damn faces!"

"I doubt that. Just don't screw this up for once!" Happy made his last plea. Even though he knew his pleas were probably wasted on a wretch like Natsu. With that, Happy let out a heavy sigh. "Now about the mission…" But before Happy could say another word, Natsu dived into the crystal star portal

"Later furball!" Natsu called out just as bright light engulfed the spirit.

"Natsu, you idiot!" He could hear his adversary shriek out before all of the Celestial Spirit disappeared behind the rays of light.

"Just you wait, Zeref. I'll show them all," Natsu clenched his fist in determination as he was freefalling towards the human realm. "I'll prove to all of them that us Dragneels aren't failures!"

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A/N: Sorry for the short and somewhat uneventful chapter. Like I said last chapter, the original chapter was too long, so they were split into two parts. And this seem to be the best place to break at.

And if case you are about to say something about Natsu and Zeref, please let me remind you of this little fact:

1\. This an AU story. That means anything canon (relationships, abilities, and anything and/or everything else that pertains to the original story by Hiro Mashima) means absolutely nothing to this story.

AND

2\. Some characters may come off as a bit OC in story.

Anyways, thank you for reading this chapter! Hopefully the chapter will be out soon.


	6. Chapter 5

Another update before the end of the year? Is this even Yukiko of the Snow? Or it it some evil Doppelgänger who is good at timely updates?!

I wish! No, it's me. I just have some down time right now and figured I do some writing. Enjoy!

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Chapter 5

"What was that?" Lucy said to herself as sat up in her bed. She had been asleep when she was woken by a loud bang. Slowly she crawled out of bed and creped towards her bedroom door. She pressed her ear against the door and carefully listened for another sound. Perhaps she had forgotten to put away some of the groceries and one of them had fallen to the group. Or maybe a bird had crashed into the window and the impact had been strong enough to wake her up. But those hopes were gone as soon as she heard a second crash. "Someone in the apartment!" she whispered to herself. And just her luck that she had left her cellphone sitting on the kitchen counter. "What am I going to do?" She could try to climb out through the window. But seeing as Lucy was on the third story of the apartment complex, it would be too dangerous for her to even try. She could try to get the attention of one of her neighbors below her. After all the second Strauss sibling, Elfman, just happened to live in the apartment below her. He could certainly hold his own against any intruder. But that strategy might get the intruder's attention as well. There was only one thing Lucy could really do. Lucy rushed to her closet and rummaged thought it to find something she can use to defend herself with.

"Maybe I can get to the front door before they notice me." With her umbrella in hand, she slowly opened the door and quietly tiptoed down the door. It was so dark; Lucy could barely make out the furniture. From the sound of moving jars and clanking pans, it was apparent that intruder was in the kitchen. As she moved in closer, she could see the light coming from the fridge. So, she was sure that the bastard was digging around in there. Her eyes fell on to her cellphone that was lying on the counter, just a few feet away from the thief. She could easily grab her cellphone and run outside to call the police. As the thief was busy eating, Lucy silently sneaked towards the counter and reached for her cellphone.

 _Almost there_. As she as her hand was over the phone, she quickly grabbed hold of it and pulled it towards her _. I got it!_ But before she could enjoy her victory, her phone suddenly gave her a notification ring. Apparently, the notification was loud enough to alarm the thief as he suddenly stood up straight.

 _Of all the times to get a damn weather notification!_ Lucy thought as she took a couple steps backwards

"Who's there?" he called out before focusing on the young woman holding the umbrella. She could hardly make out any features from the man, but she could tell that he was tall and definitely muscular. "Who are you?"

"G…GET BACK!" Lucy raised her umbrella over her head, ready to strike. "Don't you dare take another step!" The young man did not heed her warning as he took a few steps towards her. "I'm warning you!" But he continued. As he got closed, Lucy could see something coming out from each side of his head. "I said stay away!" She took a couple of swings with her umbrella, but he catch her weapon and tried to pulled it away from her. He was certainly a strong one as it was taking of Lucy's strength to hold on when he was using just one hand. Suddenly he released his grip of her umbrella, causing Lucy to fall backwards. Lucy tried to stop by grabbing on to a nearby table, but she managed to pull down a lamp with her. The force turned on the light, giving Lucy a clear view of her assailant. He was a tall young man, probably no older than her. He certainly didn't dress like he was from this area or even era. He was wearing a sleeveless waistcoat with nothing underneath which expose his bare chest, around his waist he had a black cloth that around reached his knees and white knee-length trousers. Definitely an unusual outfit for the middle of winter. But that wasn't nearly as outlandish as his crazy pink hair and two bull like horns that were protruding from his head. The man leaned in closer to Lucy and just stared at her.

"Wh…wh…. what…" She was scrambling for words. "Do you want?"

"You're Lucy. Aren't ya?" He said as he flashed a toothy grin. "Lucy Heartfilia."

 _How does guy know my name?_ Lucy would have definitely remember meeting a pink haired guy with horns.

"Just Who in the world are you?" she asked as she got up from the floor.

"Who am I, you ask?" He cleared his throat. "Fear not, human…" But then he stopped. "Hold up. I need more of a grand entrance." The strange boy rushed back into the kitchen and began tinkering with her stove, until he made flames shot up from the burners. Next, he searched through the kitchen drawers until he pulled out two flashlights. He adjusted the two on each side of her counter, almost as if he was trying to create some sort of spotlights for a stage.

All the while, Lucy could only watch and stare in absolute confusion. Was this guy seriously trying to create some grand introduction? Especially when he broke into her apartment in the first place.

"Oh my god," Lucy muttered to herself in complete disbelief. "A lunatic has broken into my apartment."

"Let's try this again." He got on top of the kitchen counter, clearing his throat once more. "Fear not, weak little mortal girl," He started again; this time his voice was loud and powerful. "Though I may appear menacing, I assure you I come in the name of all that is good." He raised his arm in a dramatic pose. "For I am the bringer of your salvation. Reliever of your pain and suffering. And the light to lead you through your darkest hour. Now listen closely girl and never forget the name of your savior." He pointed towards himself. "For I am the great and mighty Nat…" But before he could finish, Lucy gave the loudmouth boy a strong strike with her umbrella. The force was so strong, it sent Natsu crashing into the wall.

"What the hell was that for?!" Natsu began to pick himself up. "Dumb girl, I wasn't even finish yet." But before he could stand up, Lucy grabbed her lamp and smashed it over his head. As she turned on the living room lights, she could see it was just some punk with dyed pink hair and a pair of fake horns.

"I don't know you are," The young blond said as she started binding the trespasser's arms behind his back with the lamp cord. "But you made a huge mistake the minute you decided to break into my apartment!"

"I didn't break into your home!" Natsu tried to defend himself. "I swear!"

"So, what; did you just magically popped into my apartment without using a door or window."

"Umm," Natsu was hesitant to answer. "Would you get mad if I said yes?" Lucy retorted by yanking harder on the cord, pulling the boy's arms farther back. She then turned her attention to his horns.

"And Halloween was months ago!" Lucy pulled hard on Natsu's horns "So take off these stupid things off, you moron!"

"THEY …DON'T …COME…OFF!" Natsu said with each powerful tug.

"What did you do?" Lucy was using all her strength at this point. "Did you glue these damn things on or something?"

"I said, KNOCK IT OFF!" Natsu cried as a sudden burst of flames not only pushed Lucy away, but also melted the cords warped around his wrists. "Will you quit pulling on my horns! That freakin' hurts!"

"They're real." Lucy said in utter shock. "Oh my god they're actually real."

"Of course, they're real!" Natsu shouted as he torn the remnants of the cords from his wrists. "And I would appreciate it if you didn't pull on them!"

"But that's impossible," Lucy tried to stand, but her legs didn't have the strength to lift her body up. "Humans aren't supposed to have horns or make fire!"

"Who's said that I was a human. I'm a Celestial Spirit. A fire Celestial Spirit to be exact." Natsu pulled Lucy by her arm to help her up. "Maybe if you let me finish my introduction, then you would have also known that. Now, where was I?" So, as the pink hair boy or spirit as he referred to himself, was muttered to himself, Lucy was trying her best to process everything she had heard.

 _He's a Spirit._ Lucy couldn't believe what she was hearing. _That's not possible. Crap like spirits are not real. They are make-believe nonsense that adults created to entertain simpleminded children_. But if that were true, then how could she explain this pink haired beast with horns, pacing around her living room as he talked to himself.

"Oh yeah, now I remember." Natsu cleared his throat once more. "Now listen closely girl and never forget the name of your savior. For I am the great and mighty Nat…" Natsu's speech was suddenly interrupted by Lucy's ear-splitting screech. "What is wrong with you!" Natsu covered his ear. He saw Lucy make a dash to the front door and ran to stop her. He grabbed the young woman by the waist and spun her around.

"Let me go, you freak!" She cried out as she tried break away from Natsu's grasp. "I said let go!"

"Not until you promise not to run away!" Natsu replied just as Lucy elbowed him in the stomach, giving her a chance to pull away from him. But just as she was about to reach the door, Natsu poof to block her escape. "What is it with you and hitting! You are pretty violent for a girl; you know that lady!"

"Well of course I am!" Lucy countered. "After all, you're just some fire breathing demon who broke into my apartment and is now holding me hostage! How else am I supposed to react!"

"Hey, I'm a Celestial Spirit! Not a demon!" Natsu barked, taking great offense to that remark. "And let me tell you something, girlie! You're a lot meaner than any demon I've ever met!" But before they could continue their argument, a loud banging came from behind the front door.

"Lucy!" she could hear Elfman calling out. Not surprising considering that Elfman lived right below apartment. "Open up Lucy!" And judging from the sound of a loaded keyring as it attempted to unlock the door, she could tell that Mirajane was with him.

"You're in trouble now pal!" Lucy quickly ran to the door and opened it.

"Lucy!" Mira ran inside and wrapped her arms around her while Elfman followed close behind. "Oh Lucy. Thank goodness you're alright. Elf heard a loud crash coming from your apartment and we came as quick as possible."

"Yeah, there was quite a ruckus, I could swear you were wrestling with someone!" Elfman scanned the room for any sign of trouble.

"I was." Lucy pointed across the room to the spirit standing behind the sofa. "With that miserable creature over there!"

"Hi." Natsu said as he waved to the pair. Lucy waited for their shocked expression at the sight of the strange boy with the pink hair and horns. But instead she watched as the Strauss siblings looked at each other in confusion. Surely he wasn't hard to overlook. He had freakin' horns for crying out loud. "Can you two seriously not see it?" She walked next to Natsu. "Seriously, he is right here!" She suddenly pulled on one of Natsu's horn.

"What are you talking about?" Elfman said as he made his way to Lucy's side. He was literally standing in between her and the boy. "I don't see anything."

"Weird, it's like they can't see me?" Natsu said to Lucy. "Oh wait, that's because they can't." As if to prove his point, he poked his finger into Elfman's ear. His finger passed through Elfman's head and effortlessly phased to the other side. "Told you so."

"How?"

"I'm a Celestial Spirit, girlie." He vanished before appearing beside Mirajane, his arm resting on her shoulder. Mirajane clearly didn't notice the spirit near her as she didn't react one bit. "You're the only human that can sense my presence in this realm. So, you might want to stop trying before the other humans start to think you might be crazy."

"Lucy," Mira walked up to her with a worried look on her face. "Are you feeling alright? I know you're probably stressed out after today…"

 _Oh god,_ Lucy thought to herself. _She probably thinks I've gone mad or something._

"I'm fine Mirajane. It's just…" She forced a smile on her face as she tried to come up with an excuse. "I saw a…. snake."

"A snake?" the siblings said in union.

"Yes, a snake. I saw a snake slithering around on the kitchen floor." She explained as she looked at the broken lamp. "I tried to kill it by smashing the lamp on it, but the darn thing must have gotten away."

"What about all the hollering I heard?" Elfman asked, a bit skeptical about the girl's story.

"Um… I was yelling…at the snake. You know, to scare it away." Lucy felt like a total idiot saying this out loud. What sensible person would be up at 3 in the morning, screaming and throwing things at a stupid snake. She glanced pass the Strauss siblings to see that damn Celestial jerk snickering to himself.

 _Just wait until I get my hands on you, you dumb bastard!_ She thought, trying to figure out what would be the best thing to beat him over the head with. Her favorite so far was the cast iron skillet in the pastry. But then Elfman turned to his sister.

"I told you we shouldn't have rented the unit out to that nutjob with all those snakes." He exclaimed. "The dude even called himself Cobra."

"It's okay, Elf. Mirajane replied as she placed a calming hand on her brother's shoulder. "I'll have a talk with Erik tomorrow on perhaps limiting the number of pets he allowed to own." She then turned to Lucy. "I'm sorry for all the trouble, Lucy. I promise I'll have an exterminator here first thing in morning."

"Um," She wished she could tell her not to bother since she was certain that the exterminator would find nothing. However, if she were to declined Mira's offer, then they would find that rather suspicious. "Thank you Mirajane. I really appreciate it."

"I meant to ask you, how did today go, Lucy?" Mirajane asked. She had probably been waiting all day to have this discussion with Lucy. "What classes did you enroll into this semester?" Lucy could tell that Mirajane was full of questions about today. Thank goodness she was out most of the night or else she would have to sit through this cross-examination for hours.

"Uh, Mirajane, it's a little late." Lucy replied. "Maybe another time." She couldn't help but notice the disappointment in the eldest Strauss' face.

"Oh, I guess you're right." She gave Lucy a hug. "But I still want to say congratulations."

"Yeah," Elfman patted the young blonde's back. "Good job, Luce."

"Um, thanks." She led the two to the door and bid them a goodnight before closing the door. Lucy let out a heavy sigh before fall back the sofa.

"I gotta hand it to you, girlie." Natsu sat down next to Lucy. "You're pretty quick on your feet. I don't think I could come up with excuse on the spot." He looked towards the girl, only to be met with the mother of all death glares. A glare so vicious, it could easily rival that red-haired beast he knew as Erza Scarlet.

"You!" She shot up. "YOU BIG IDIOT!"

"Not the face!" He shielded himself as the blonde hair raised her balled up fist, ready to strike the cause of her frustration straight on his thick skull. But instead she closed her eyes and sat back down. "Hey, are you okay?" He asked as Lucy took deep breathes in and out.

"Just peachy." Lucy responded in-between breathes.

"You sure?" He asked again.

"Yep." Lucy took in one last inhale before letting it out. "Because I've finally realized is going on."

"Is that so." Natsu replied.

"Yes." Lucy opened her eyes. "You see, you horrid creature, I have come to a simple explanation."

"Which is?"

"Obviously." She stood up. "You are nothing more than a figment of imagination. A mere hallucination brought on excessive psychological distress, probably due to an alteration in my standard routines. Add in the crippling anxiety and alarming incubus; it's no wonder I've having a momentary lapse in rationality."

"I'm not gonna lie to you," Natsu stared back at Lucy with a confused look on his face. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"What I'm trying to say is that you are just imaginary. You not real! You do not exist!" She shouted as she turned towards her room. "And I'm pretty sure that all I have to do is go back to sleep. Hopefully after a full night of rest, my delusions will subside, and you will cede to exist."

"So," Natsu followed behind the girl. "You don't mind if I stay?"

"I don't care what you do." Lucy reached for her bedroom door. "So long as you stay far away from me."

"Neat. I call this room!" Lucy turned around quickly, only to see Natsu gone.

"Good riddance." But as she opened the door, she heard a springy sound, as if someone was jumping on a bed. She looked in her room, hoping he was inside. But it was empty.

 _He wouldn't_. Lucy grabbed the doorknob to Lisanna's room. _He wouldn't dare be in that room, would he?_

As she opened the door, she watched in horror as that pink haired weirdo jumped up and down on her best friend's bed. All of Lisanna's beloved stuffed animals were now scattered on the floor around the bed.

"Wow!" the spirit cried out as he landed on the bed. "This bed is really soft. It's just like sleeping on a cloud.

"Get off that bed, you idiot!" Lucy lunged towards the bed. The spirit suddenly disappeared, causing Lucy to crash into the headboard. "Stupid jerk." Lucy said as she quickly replaced all the animals on the bed. But as she grabbed the last one, she noticed he was now pulling books off the shelves.

"You must love reading a lot." He pulled out another one and stared quickly at the cover before dropping it on the floor. "Personally, I can't stand it. It's way too boring."

"Get away from those!" She rushed to the bookshelf just as Natsu vanished again. "Those are in alphabet organized, you idiot!" She desperately tried organized them again. But as she turned to pick up another book, she saw that menace hanging from the top of her father's grandfather clock.

"Wow! This looks just like old man Horologium!" he said as he stared into the clock's face. "I wonder if this is his cousin or something?" As he jumped off, the clock began to lean forward. Luckily, Lucy was able to stop it from tumbling over.

"He may be a hallucination," Lucy hissed as the poor girl struggled to push the massive clock back in its place. "But he sure is pain in my ass!"

"Hey, this looks like a pretty neat book." She heard that horrid beast said. She turned around to just in time to see that walking nightmare picking up her mother's favorite book. Her desire to save her book must have given her a jolt of strength because she was able to shove the grandfather clock backwards with one mighty push. She swiftly raced to the pink hair idiot and pulled the book away just as he was about open it.

"DON'T TOUCH THIS!" She growled as she protectively held the book close to her chest. Her eyes burning with the fury of a raging firestorm actually made the celestial spirit flinch. "DON'T YOU EVER TOUCH THIS!" Finally getting the hint that he didn't belong in this room, he vanished before reappearing in the doorway. He watched as Lucy carefully placed the book on its podium as if it were made of glass.

"I don't get why you're getting you panties in a twist." Natsu yawned. "It's only a stupid book." Lucy suddenly ram the spirit and pushed him out of her deceased friend bedroom.

"There's only one stupid thing in this apartment and I assure it isn't the book." Lucy stood over Natsu, glaring down at him with her big brown eyes. "Now listen here, you idiot! You stay the hell out of that room! And If I ever catch in there again, I will end your miserable existence! You got it?!" Natsu nodded vigorously. "Good." Lucy quickly made her way to her bedroom and without another word, slammed the door behind her.

"Man, is she grouchy." Natsu pushed himself up from the floor. But as he looked around, he realized that there was hardly any damage done to this place. The only thing that was broken was the lamp and that was Lucy's fault. And most importantly, nothing had caught on fire! A personal best for him! "First day had been a complete success!" Natsu exclaimed as he grinned. Suddenly he covered his mouth, afraid of Lucy popping out of her room and beating the ever-living snot out of him. Silently, he decided he'd returned to the kitchen to finish off the rest of the food.

He just had to make to be very quiet.

* * *

A/N: Well, so much for a making a good first impression. Lets hope this isn't an indication of what's to come.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. And if you like this story so far, please leave a review. Hopefully I'll have another chapter out before the end of the year.


	7. Chapter 6

Haha! I did it! I got one more update out by the new year (Well, technically a couple of hours into the new year, but I'll take it! ). Suck it procrastination and my soul crashing career!

I hope you enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 6

Lucy's eyelids began to flutter as the early morning sun gleamed through the gaps of her blinds. She turned towards her clock and let out an annoyed groan. Lucy usually considered herself an early riser and usually had no trouble being up by 6:00 am every morning. But today, she could not drag herself out of bed. She was just too sleepy to get up this morning. Sluggishly she turned her alarm clock the other way.

"All because of that dumbass." But as she let out a yawn, the face of that pink hair monster flashed through her mind. Her mind suddenly began replaying the events from just a few hours ago.

"Did that really happen?" Lucy asked herself as she turned to lay on her back, looking upwards towards her ceiling. "Or was it all just a crazy dream?" Some deranged boy with real horns that were calling himself Celestial Spirit who had the ability to produce fire; it all seemed too bizarre to actually exist. But if that was the case, then why did it feel so real? She was practically able to recall every single second of her interaction with that nutcase; from his rigid horns that looked too weird to be real, down to the intense heat from when he had created to escape his capture. But the more thought she gave it, the least likely it seems. Humans don't possess pyrokinesis abilities. And though there were some people in this world that had horns, they certainly didn't look as if they were pulled off from some random barn animal. But most importantly, there were no such things as Celestial Spirits. That sounded like the sort of things that belong in a child's storybook. And everyone with a least half a brain knew that fairy tales were nothing more than make-believe.

 _Mom always did say that I had an overactive imagination._

"Of course, it was a dream." Lucy decided as rolled over on her left side. "I would have to be a complete lunatic would believe that I was visited by some crazy pink hair boy with horns and fire magic." But as she snuggled into her cover, she suddenly hit with a wave of intense heat, which caused her to start sweating. Now that would have been normal had it be a hot day in summer. But this was totally unusual considering that it was a chilly morning in the middle of winter and Lucy never had the thermostat above 68 degrees. "Stupid thing must be broken or something." No longer able to bear this warmness, she sat up in her bed and pulled off her covers; only to be met she was met with a mane of spiky pink hair. Her heart almost skipped a beat as she discovered that pink-haired idiot from the night before, curled up and asleep beside her, in her bed. Lucy could feel a massive amount of rage starting to build up within her. But instead of acting out like she did last night, she calmly closed her eyes.

 _I'm not going to cause another scene like last night_. Again, she started to take deep breaths. _Okay, I'm going to count three and hopefully when I open my eyes, he will be gone._

 _One._

 _Two._

 _Three._ Lucy could still feel the heat radiating from the boy. She decided to count to five.

 _Four_

 _Five_. He started stirring. Goodness was this boy one stubborn illusion. She better make it ten.

 _Six_

 _Seven._ But before she could get to the next number, Lucy felt as the pink-haired menace wrapped his arms around her thighs, giving her a strong hug.

"TEN!" Lucy cried out as she grabbed the sleeping idiot by the collar of his vest. Natsu woke up in time to witness the blonde hair girl lifting him over her shoulder before throwing him across the room. The force was so great, she managed to send him hurtling into the closet doors.

"That really hurt! "Natsu cried out as he picked himself from the floor. "What is the matter with you!?"

"You are, you dumb bastard!" Lucy screamed as she jumped off the bed. "What the hell are you doing in my damn bed?"

"Oh, that?" Natsu let out a yawn before disappearing then reappearing crisscross applesauce on Lucy's bed again. "I was sleeping. You know, before your crazy ass freaked out."

"I can see that, you halfwit!" She shouted. "What I want to know is why?"

"Easy. I was sleepy and wanted to go to sleep. And because someone told me I wasn't allowed in the extra empty bed, I decided to nap in your bed instead. I figured you wouldn't mind."

"You thought I wouldn't mind waking up to some random freak lying beside me?" Lucy let out a groan and she pitched the bridge of her nose, clearly sick of dealing with Natsu. "Tell me, are you always this stupid or is your stupidity the result of a recent head injury?"

"You are not a very nice person, are you?" Natsu replied as he let himself fall back onto Lucy's pillow. "No wonder you have trouble making friends." Lucy suddenly pulled out the covers from beneath him, sending the Celestial Spirit rolling off the bed to the floor. Lucy then dropped the covers and exited the room. "And where are you going?" Natsu asked as he trailed behind her.

"I'm called the cops," Lucy said as she searched for her phone. "Maybe they can get you out of my home."

"You don't listen very well, do you girlie." The fire spirit tried to take pulled the phone from Lucy's hand. But Lucy slapped his hand away. "What part of 'no one but you sense my presence in this realm' do you not understand."

"Then I'll call a freakin' exorcist!" Lucy began typing on her cellphone. "I don't care who. So long I can finally get rid of you!"

"An exor- what?" Natsu questioned.

"Exorcist; A person who is able to get expel unwanted evil spirits out of one's home." She scrolled down on her phone. "And in this case, that means you, you pink nightmare."

"Wow, that was rude." Natsu was starting to understand why this Lucy girl was so lonely. She was a nasty and condescending girl who definitely had a mean streak to her. She was practically a female human version of Happy. But as much had he didn't care for this girl and her attitude, he had already agreed to this assignment. He could contact the Celestial Spirit Realm and asked to return before he could generate any negative energy. But he refused to give up that easily. He may a loser in the eyes of the other Celestial Spirits, but Natsu Dragneel was no quitter. "Listen girlie, you can call whoever you want, but I'm not leaving until I help you out, got it?!"

"I do not need help." She glared harshly towards Natsu. "Especially from someone like you!"

"Well, if you didn't need my help, then why did you make the wish?!"

"What are you babbling about?" She tried to scoff off the notion that she had actually asked this man for help. Then it suddenly dawned on her. "Wait, are you talking about the wishing stone?"

"Oh, so you actually do remember making a wish on that bluestone," Natsu replied. "But yeah, you made a wish and the Celestial Spirit King decided that you were worthy of having your request grand. And because his majesty labeled this mission as a top priority, he assigned only the best, like yours truly to the job." He boosted as he proudly puffed out his chest. But Lucy wasn't paying the boy any attention.

"It worked." She muttered to herself, trying to make sense of this situation. Lucy was certain that that story in her mother's fable book was nothing but a silly fairy tale. But seeing that a Celestial Spirit was literally standing in the middle of her living room; this was clearly not the case. "It actually worked." She looked up at the boy. "So let me get this straight; you're here to help grant my wish."

"Yep."

"And during that time, where are you supposed to stay?"

"I have to stay here with you." Lucy groaned at the idea of having to share her home with this thing. Maybe she could dismiss him if she decided she didn't need him to wish granted.

"So, how do I get rid of you then?" Lucy asked, praying that he could be useful.

"Oh, I can't leave until your wish had been completely fulfilled." Natsu grinned at Lucy, knowing that wasn't the answer she was hoping for. "So that means you're stuck with me until I can fix whatever is wrong with your life," Lucy growled in disappointment. She was trapped with him until he could help her, which she highly doubt he could. But then she tried to calm herself down.

"Fine then." Lucy might be stuck with this idiot for a while, but Lucy was determined not to let him get to her. "But if we're going to be living under the same roof, we're going to have to establish some rules."

"Um, okay I guess."

"The first rule; under no circumstances are you allowed to enter the second bedroom. That room and everything in it is off-limits to you. Do you understand that?"

"Trust me, after last night, I don't even want to go there again." Natsu quivered at the recollection of last night.

"Good. The second rule; Stay out of my room, especially my bed when I am asleep."

"Then where am I supposed to sleep?" Natsu countered.

"You can either take the sofa or you can sleep outside like all the other unruly pets." Lucy shot back at the young man. "Quite frankly, I don't care where you end up, so long as you stay out of my hair." Natsu narrowed his glare. She was definitely like that stupid cat. Only a lot stronger and nastier.

"I don't like you." He asserted.

"I assure you that the feeling is neutral." Lucy sighed heavily. Though she wasn't sure how this guy was going to grant her wish, she figured that she could go along with this. Hopefully, if she worked with this spirit, his stay wouldn't be too long. And who knows, perhaps this jackass could actually help her move on with her life. "But since we're stuck with each other until further notice, I should at least know your name." Natsu's face suddenly lit up with excitement. He was finally going to finish his grand entrance. But as he tried to dash to the kitchen, Lucy grabbed him by his scarf and pulled him backward. "And if you think I'm going to listen to that stupid speech of yours a second time, then you got another thing coming pal!"

"You're such a killjoy." Natsu pulled his scarf away from the blonde girl. "You know that girlie?"

"Just tell me your name, moron."

"Fine. It's Natsu." He extended a hand to shake his new assignment's hand. "Natsu Dragneel."

"And my name is Lucy." She took his hand. "Lucy Heartfilia."

"I already know that."

"Then stop calling girlie then," she squeezed his hand tightly, making the spirit wince in pain. "Natsu Dragneel."

"Alright! Alright!" Natsu cried as Lucy let go of his hand. But as he was holding his hand, they both heard a loud grumbling sound. "Um," Natsu looked up, a bit embarrassed. "I guess I'm hungry again."

"I guess you can have something to eat then," Lucy said as she walked to the kitchen. "I'm sure I have leftover chicken from yesterday."

"I already ate it," Natsu said.

"Well, I'm sure that there are plenty of things for you to choose from."

"Um, about that…" Natsu starched the back of his head. "I may have eaten all of it last night."

"You did what?" Lucy opened the fridge, only to find nothing inside. She checked the freezer, but even the ice cube trays were licked clean. He had even eaten the whole cake that Mirajane left behind the night before. "You can't be serious!" She pulled opened every cupboard, pulled out every drawer and checked every inch of the pantry. But Natsu apparently had devoured even the dried ingredients. Lucy even checked her secret hiding spot on top of the fridge where she usually hid a box of those chocolate turtles she enjoyed so much. But even they were gone. "Did you seriously eat everything in my kitchen?!"

"You said I could do whatever I want, as long as I didn't bother you."

"And you though devouring two weeks of groceries within 12 hours after purchasing them wouldn't bother me!" She could feel the overwhelming eager to beat him surging up again.

"Uhh," Natsu tried to think of something to calm Lucy down. "If it makes you feel better, the food wasn't all that great. I mean, that white powder stuff in that orange box was probably the worst thing I've ever eaten."

"You mean the box of baking soda in the back of the fridge. That isn't even food!" Lucy noticed that the kitchen was surprisingly clean for the fact that Natsu spent all night eating. "Did you even bother to take the food out of the packages?"

"Was I supposed to?" Natsu asked as if that was astonishing.

"Yes, you were."

"Huh, no wonder the food was really chewy."

"You're an idiot, you know that." Lucy let out a deep sigh.

"As if you're the first person who has ever called me that." Natsu retorted.

"Oh, I'm sure I'm not." Lucy sighed heavily again. This was going to be quite an exhausting trial. "Well, since I don't want to be here when the exterminator gets here, I guess I'll go shopping."

"Can I come?" Natsu asked as Lucy started to walk towards her bedroom. "It's been forever since I've gone into a human city."

"No." Lucy immediately shot Natsu down. Shopping was annoying enough; she didn't need to babysit some fire breathing idiot with her. But suddenly she thought of her memorial room. Natsu could do lots of damage while she was out. The last thing she needed was to have anything destroy by this jackass. "On second thought, I better take you with me. But do not touch anything." She said before closing the door.

 _What a mess._ Lucy thought to herself as opened her closet door. She thought it was going to be tough enough to be attending her first semester of the university while getting over the grief of Lisanna. Now she had to add dealing with this pain in the ass like Natsu to the mix. _Hopefully, everything will turn out fine_. She pulled out an outfit and laid it on her bed. _And who knows; Maybe he can help me._ But as she pulled her pajama top over her head, she realized that Natsu was standing in the doorway, staring at her in her bra.

"You know you take forever to get ready?" Natsu said to the girl.

"Natsu…" she could feel the vein on her temple throbbing. "GET OUT OF MY ROOM, YOU IDIOT!" And with a strong slap to the cheek, she sent the well-deserving spirit crashing into the hallway before slamming the door shut.

"THAT IF I DON'T STRANGLE HIM FIRST!"

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A/N: I just want to give everyone a big thank you for being so patient. I know it isn't easy following an author is consistently having to go on hiatus whenever life decides to punch me in the gut. But hopefully the next chapter will be out in a timely manner.

Hopefully! I'm keeping my fingers cross!

I hope everyone has a happy new year!

Yukiko of the Snow


	8. Chapter 7

What!? I actually got another chapter out within my original set deadline. Hurray!

This chapter is a little longer than I usually like to make it, but I couldn't find a good break. So forgive me if this chapter is a bit long. Enjoy!

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Chapter 7

It was a good thing for Lucy that she was the only being who could see Natsu Dragneel. If any of the other commuters could see this pink haired man hanging upside down from the bus handles as he gawked at every single thing the bus pass like some sort of stupid ape, Lucy would probably die from embarrassment ten times over.

"Hey Lucy!" Her new roommate called out as he pointed to yet another car. "Look at that red chariot! I still can't believe that all these chariots don't need horses to make them move!" Apparently it must have been some time since Natsu had been in the human realm. Annoyed with the overly enthusiastic Celestial Spirit, Lucy just groaned as she turned away and focused her attention on the others around her. Luckily for her, it was still pretty early, so there weren't too many commuters this hours. Mostly just older folk that had better things to do than to start up a conversation with the young woman. Which was fine with her; small talk was never really Lucy's strong point.

"Lucy! Lucy!" Natsu enthusiastically tugged at Lucy's coat shelve. "Look at that! That guy is riding a headless horse!"

"That's a motorcycle, you idiot." She muttered under breath, quickly looking around her to see if anyone else noticed.

 _What the hell is wrong with him?_ Lucy cringed at the sight of Natsu acting like an idiot. He had the body of a grown ass man but everything seemed to overstimulate him. _I swear this nitwit is worse than a hyperactive child with an extremely short attention span._ . Why the Celestial Spirit Realm would send someone like Natsu to help her was beyond her. But it could always be worse; people could be able to see this jackass as well as her. And at least she could easily ignore him. As the bus finally stopped at their destination, Lucy rushed to the exit in a futile attempt to ditch the annoying spirit.

"Wait for me, Lucy!" Natsu shouted as he tried to unwrap his legs from the handles. But he had lost his grip and was sent crashing to the floor. "I'm okay!" he claimed as he gave her a thumbs up.

"Idiot." Lucy mumble to herself as she shook her head

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"WOW!" Natsu stared in utter awe as the two stood at the entrance of the supermarket. It had been centuries since he had seen a human marketplace, so naturally they would have changed in his 300 plus year absence. But this mansion of food was a far call from the simple little stands alongside the main road. There were literal tubs of fruits and vegetables just sitting in middle of the store. There were over a dozen aisles, as far as the eye could see. And they were jammed pack with an assortment of delicious food. And some of these rows were able to hold cold food without melting! It even made the ration closet of the King's castle, which was massive itself, look like some dinky little pantry. Certainly, Natsu had died and gone to heaven! But before he could take a step forward, Natsu felt as Lucy pulled him by his scarf and drag him away.

"Now listen here," Lucy said as the pair hid behind a large candy display, out of sight from the early morning shoppers. "While we are here, you will not touch anything. You will annoy the other shoppers. And you will not…I REPEAT, WILL NOT EAT ANYTHING!"

"Not eat anything?" Natsu repeated, trying to grasp the ludicrous declaration the young woman had just made. Asking this one not to eat was like asking a fire not to burn; it just wasn't possible. This was probably just payback from last night. "You're punishing me for last night, aren't you?"

"Oh shut up! If I wanted to punish you, I would have bashed your face in with the nearest blunt object!" Lucy snapped at her annoying companion. "Now let get something straight; I don't care about feeding you in the slightest bit. Quite frankly, you can starve for all I care. I am only out here shopping is because your dumbass ate a month's worth of food in one night! And the only reason I brought you along is because I don't want alone in my apartment. So, while were out, I expect you to behave yourself."

"You make it sound it matters what I do in public," Natsu scoffed. "Remember, no one can see me but you. Nobody gonna notice me eating a single thing."

"I don't care, Natsu! Honestly the last thing I need for you to devour everything in this store!"

"But I won't…" Natsu tried to defend himself but the young blond didn't give him a chance.

"And don't give me that crap that you wouldn't be able to when you ate everything in my kitchen within the span of a few hours! So just keep that big mouth shut…" She suddenly gave his a death glare so terrifying, it made Natsu break out in a cold sweat. "And if I catch you stuffing your face, I will destroy you. You got that, Dragneel?!" Natsu shook his head before Lucy stormed off.

Normally Natsu wasn't the greatest at following orders from others. But something told him that Lucy would probably make good on her threat. After all, Lucy did almost beat the crap out of him the night before; all just because wandered into a stupid bedroom.

Besides, he was doing such a great job on this mission. It had been over 5 hours since he appeared before Lucy and he still hadn't caused any massive damage. And he would be damned if he screwed up this winning streak now. So he decided that for the time being, he would behave himself. Even if that meant passing all this yummy looking food without eating it.

This was going to be a rough trip Natsu.

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It really irritated the hell out of Lucy whenever that stupid Natsu was out of her sight. She had already caught him eating something twice. The only reason she hadn't beaten him black and blue is because he had eaten apple that had rolled under a shelf and a box of soggy waffles that had been carelessly left in the bread aisle. So she couldn't be too upset with Natsu since these two items that would have been thrown away otherwise.

But while Natsu was behaving himself for the most part, Natsu was still managing to bug the living crap out of her. Normally, Lucy's shopping trip wouldn't take too long in the store, unless she was avoid someone. But that was wasn't the case with Natsu. It had already been an hour and she was still trying to get out the store without spending over $200. But with Natsu, that was proving more than a challenge. She swore that dummy just had to walk down every freaking aisle, gawking at every type of food he spotted. If he had his way, he would easily tried to put one of each item into the cart. And if she wasn't careful, Natsu would try to sneak some random food item into the cart. He had already tried to slip some lobster tails and a 10 pound roll of ground beef into her cart.

"Stupid pain in my butt," Lucy sighed heavily. "Bad enough he has the appetite of a damn whale but now that moron wants pricy food. Feeding this bastard going to cost me an arm and a leg."

"Lucy!" She could hear Natsu shout from behind her.

Speak of the devil. Lucy thought as that dumb oaf approach her. And judging by the stupid grin on his face, Lucy could tell that Natsu how found yet another item he wanted her to purchase.

"What is it this time?" Lucy muttered as quietly as possible so others couldn't hear her.

"You know that brown butter cream and that fruity gel thingy that were in jars…" Natsu started off with such enthusiasm.

"You mean the peanut butter and jelly."

"Yeah, that stuff. Well look at this!" He excitedly exclaimed as pulled out two jars from under his vest and set them in the cart. "These jars have the two mixed together! And they come in two colors! Isn't that awesome?!"

"Put it back." Lucy suddenly shot him down. Those jars were worth more than the peanut butter and jelly jar combined. Plus, she was positive that Natsu would devour these two little jars in just one sitting.

"But ..." Natsu tried to give his two cents, but Lucy did not give him a chance

"I said put them back." She ordered once more.

"That is so unfair…" Natsu began to whine.

"Unfair is buying food for your sorry freeloading behind! Now put those back before I shove those jars down your throat." She hissed at him. Natsu gave a scowl and he grabbed the jars and marched off. "Idiot." Lucy said to herself as she pushed the cart away. If it wasn't for the fact that she was in public, she would have beaten Natsu with those jars. She was so focused on Natsu, she didn't notice the young man with hand basket in front of her until she accidently bumped into him, causing it to land on the floor.

"I'm so sorry!" Lucy apologized as she bowed her head. "I wasn't paying attention."

"Its fine," The young man said as he lifted his basket from the floor. As Lucy lifted her head, she finally got a good look at the man she had carelessly collided into. He was young, probably no older than her. He had a toned and muscular built as his muscles rippled through his tight fitting shirt. And this man has spiky black, almost as messy as Natsu. As she stared into his dark blue eyes, she felt as she had seen them once before.

"Lucy," He said. She may had not recognized this man, but apparently he somehow knew who she was. "Lucy Heartfilia?"

"Um," Lucy tried to think who this guy was but she honestly couldn't give this man a name. And being put on the spot was making Lucy's anxiety go into overdrive.

"It's Gray." He said with a smile. "Gray from 10th grade."

"I'm sorry," Lucy timidly replied as she took a few steps back. "I don't really know who you are. I'm sorry."

"I… um… was the one who, you know…" He hesitated to answer, clearly uncomfortable. "Who was stripped naked and ran across football field?"

"Gray…" Suddenly it all came back to her. "Gray Fullbuster." It wasn't that much of a shock that she had forgotten this man. Gray had only hung out with her and Lisanna briefly during their first year of high school. Gray was a grade above them, so the three never got a chance to intermingle much; besides a simple hi and wave in between classes. And to be honest, it was mostly Lisanna who talked to Gray since Lucy never liked interacting with new people. Lucy always felt the reason Lisanna was eager to be friends with him because she had a crush on him. Lisanna said that she was only just trying to be friendly, claiming that she felt he was similar to them.

Which he was.

Gray was also a social outcast who never really fit in. Just like Lucy and Lisanna, Gray had also lost a parent, his mother, at a young age, so naturally that made him far more mature for his age than the rest of the teenage population. And just like them, he too was a victim of bullying; only the older students were ten times crueler to Gray. Sadly, only a month and a half into the year, some of his classmates from gym pulled a harsh prank on him. They had stripped him naked and chase him across the football field. Gray had stood up to his bullies and even managed to knock out two of them. However, the school did not take kindly to violence and Gray was expelled alongside his tormenters. One of her few memories of Gray were of the poor naked boy being leading to the office. As he passed by her, Lucy pulled her coat right off her back and gave to Gray; just to help him preserve whatever dignity he had left. It was probably one of the only times they interacted with each other without Lisanna. It was certainly the last.

"Oh, Gray. It's been almost forever." But as she stared at Gray, it was no wonder why she didn't recognized him at first. The Gray she knew in high school was a scrawny boy with messy black hair and thick glasses. It was hard to believe that the nerdy Gray had grown up to become this well-built young man that stood before her. "You look…um … very different from high school."

"Yeah, after I was expelled, my old man started me on a workout regime. Said it would keep assholes from messing with me. He also got me contact lens, so I wouldn't look like an easy target. And I gonna say," He flexed his left arm, showing off his strapping biceps. "It worked out pretty well. No one has screwed with me since."

"I would imagine so." Lucy gave a nervous laugh before falling silent. It had been almost four years since she had seen him. Unlike Lisanna, who was great with keeping up with friends that moved away, Lucy preferred to let others drift away. To her, it was easier for her to let people go than trying desperately to cling on to them. And worse, she didn't remember him, even after telling her his name. If Lucy felt horrible, she could only imagine what Gray truly thought of her.

"So…" He started the conversation, probably sensing Lucy's growing unease. "What have you been up to since we last saw each other?"

"What I've been up to?" Lucy felt a bit uneasy as she spoke to Gray. Gray may have been an acquaintance during high school, but to Lucy, he might as well be a total stranger. Especially since they had never really talked to each other. "I graduated high school a while ago. So, nothing eventful really."

"With how smart you are, I bet you graduated top of your class." Lucy nodded, a little surprised. She guess Gray remembered her better than she gave him credit for. Which was more than she could say about herself. "Congrats on being valedictorian. Are you going to any university?"

"Umm…" Nervously, Lucy casted her eyes downward to her hands. Her anxiety was making her grip the handlebar of her shopping cart so tightly, her knuckles were turning white. "I'm …. enrolled at… umm… University of Fiore in Crocus." She mumbled quietly.

"No kidding. I'm going to UF too. Third year." Gray grinned, totally unaware of how much he was torturing his former classmate. "Kinda strange that I haven't run into you until now."

"Oh yeah," Lucy had to think quickly. What could she tell Gray that would end this conversation without bringing up her best friend? "About that, I am enrolled but I haven't attended because…. I…um… took a gap year."

"A gap year?"

"Yes, a gap year. I was so overworked, I felt I needed a break from school for a good while." She tried to sound reassuring as she forced herself to smile. "But I had so many hours from my dual credit classes that I will probably still graduate on time."

"Was that gap year because of what happened to Lisanna?" Gray replied, causing Lucy's smile to drop almost instantly. "Listen, there's no point acting like I don't know about Lisanna and the accident before graduation."

"How…" She started, trying shake the shock. "How do you know about Lisanna?"

"I saw it on the news. At first, I was really hoping it was a different person. Someone as bubbly and happy as Lisanna couldn't possibly be gone. But then some former classmates confirmed that she was had passed away…" Gray sighed heavily; his eyes full of pity. "I just want to say that I'm sorry that you lost her. I knew how close you and Lisanna were. I wished I could have at least been by your side during that time."

Lucy didn't know what to do. If she were to speak about Lisanna, Lucy knew she wouldn't be able to hold it together. Just remembering that horrible night was about to send her into a panic attack. She just wanted to run away, but her legs felt too heavy to move.

"Lucy?" Gray called out, worried about Lucy's sudden silence. "Are you alright?" Before she could reply, Lucy's cart was suddenly jolted forward, crashing into Gray's basket and causing his groceries to fall to the floor. Lucy looked down to see Natsu's hand clutching the handlebar of the cart.

"Who's this jackass?" Natsu questioned as he glared with absolute distain for the young man before him.

"Natsu…" Lucy hissed through her teeth while Gray was preoccupied with picking up his groceries. "What the hell are you doing?"

"This guy was clearly upsetting you. All I did was help you out." Natsu defended his actions, but one hard glare from Lucy told him that his help was not appreciated. ""Why are you getting mad at me for? He's the one bothering you!"

"I'm sorry about that." She apologized as she got on her knees to help Gray. "My hands must have slipped. How stupid of me." She said, obviously directing the last part towards Natsu.

"Nah, it's alright." Gray replied as he stood up.

"Just give the word Lucy," Natsu grinned as he lit his fist on fire. "And I'll burn this jerk to a crisp." But Lucy retorted by forcibly shoving the shopping cart as she leaned against the cart to stand up, striking Natsu straight in the gut.

"So, you're attending UF too." Lucy said as she placed the last can in his basket. Luckily for her, Natsu's stupid antics gave her a chance to change the subject. "What are you majoring in?"

"Oh, I'm an engineering major." Gray said, obviously pleased that Lucy actually wanted to talk to him. Of course she didn't, it would be rude to run away and it was a better option than talking about Lisanna.

"That is really neat. You always were great at making things." Lucy said, remembering how Lisanna would go on about how talented Gray was.

"So you remember me a little…" Gray teased. "Yeah my dad always said I had a knack for building things so…" But as Lucy tried to listen, Natsu was complaining in the other ear.

"Uggh!" He groaned loudly. Natsu could sense that Lucy was uncomfortable around this guy. That is why Natsu had rammed the cart into this guy. So he could take the hint and get lost. Instead, here she was, chatting up a storm with him.

"I heard that's a tough major." Lucy said, completely trying desperately to drown out all the noise. "Lots of math involved."

"You're telling me." Gray continued while Natsu was yammering in the background.

"Why are you still talking to this guy Lucy?!"

"You know, Pre-calculus does nothing to prepare you for actual Calculus…"

"He's as dull as dishwater."

"And then there's Physics, which is basically just math pretending to be science."

"And look at that mug of his." Natsu continued. "Looks like he got wacked a couple of time with an ugly stick."

But as Lucy tried to focus on the conversation, she was starting to lose her patience with this conversation. She wished that she could just tell either one of guys to be quiet.

"Lucy," Natsu started tugging on her jacket. "Tell this moron to leave you alone."

"Are you okay, Lucy?" Gray questioned as he noticed the infuriated expression on Lucy's face.

"LUCY!" Natsu called out again, finally pushing Lucy over her limit.

"Oh my god… WILL YOU," She abruptly turned to Natsu. "SHUT THE HELL UP NATSU!" Lucy screamed at the top of her lung. Instinctively she suddenly covered her mouth. Her eyes darted around her surroundings and was dismay to see other shoppers eying her.

"Umm… who is Natsu?" Gray asked, a bit confused at the outburst.

"I…I…" She shuddered to find some way to explain herself. But what could she say that wouldn't make it seem like she had lost her mind. "I know I seem crazy, but there is someone or something that is constant following me…" She looked at him with pleading eyes. "You have to believe me…"

"I totally get it, Lucy." Gray answered as he rested his hand on her shoulder. "I took a psychology class back in my freshmen year. And I learned that when someone suffers a traumatic event in their life, they sometimes create an imaginary friend as a coping mechanism. So I understand where you're coming from."

"I ain't imaginary, you ass!" Natsu snapped back. As for Lucy, all she could do was stand there, completely humiliated. Not only did she make an ass of herself in public but now Gray think she is suffering from some mental breakdown. Gray pulled his cell out of his pocket.

"My roommate is starting to blow up my phone. I should probably get going now." He pulled out a pen and an old receipt from his pocket and jotted down a number. "I know you're not a fan of social media, but if you ever just need to talk to someone, I'll always be willing to listen." Gray handed the paper to her.

"Umm, sure." She said as she accepted the paper.

"See you later, Lucy." Gray turned his head slightly to the left. "Bye Natsu." He said as he waved to the spirit, even though Natsu was standing on Lucy's right side.

"Bite me, Gray." Natsu shot back as Gray walked away. "Good riddance to that punk, right Lucy?" He turned to Lucy, who was oddly up to this point. "Lucy?" Suddenly Lucy turned towards him with the most fearsome look on her face. Her cheeks were flushed a dark red, either by anger or embarrassment. And that look in her eyes; man if looks could kill, Natsu would definitely be six feet under by now. He expected Lucy to go off on him and probably throw a punch or two at him. But instead, Lucy turned the cart around and stormed off.

Though Lucy hadn't chew him out like he expected her too, he knew that was because Lucy didn't want to embarrass herself any more than she already has. But he was certain that the moment they were alone, Lucy will probably give him a beating of a lifetime.

 _I should probably find my way to Lucy's home on my own._ Natsu decided as he teleported away.

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A/N: Well, that didn't go as expected. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter because it was pretty tough to find time to write with the way things are going. Hopefully there will be another update in the near future. Maybe next month.

Til then, please stay safe.


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